MobiFone Digital Payment Joint Stock Company officially launched on March 27, 2026 in Hanoi, becoming only the second entity in Vietnam licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam to operate financial switching and electronic clearing services, ending years of sole-provider dominance by the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam. The company enters the market with 22 institutional partnerships, a Visa collaboration, and a government mandate to build what it describes as Vietnam’s fourth-generation national payment infrastructure.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Official launch date: March 27, 2026, Hanoi; SBV licence granted November 27, 2025
- Company structure: MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation holds 51%, One Mount Group holds 38%, Techcombank holds 11%; charter capital VND 300 billion (approximately USD 11.5 million)
- Licensed services: Financial switching, electronic clearing, payment gateway services, and collection and disbursement support
- MDP is only the second entity in Vietnam licensed to provide financial switching and electronic clearing services, after NAPAS
- Institutional partnerships signed at launch: 22 member institutions including Vietcombank, BIDV, Vietinbank, Agribank, and Techcombank
- Global partner announced at launch: Visa
- MoU with NAPAS signed February 10, 2026, to research interconnection models between the two switching systems
- MoU with the Ministry of Public Security’s Research and Application Center for Population Data and Citizen Identification (RAR) signed at launch, to integrate MDP services into the national e-identification application VNeID
- NAPAS processed 9.56 billion transactions in 2024, a 30% volume increase year-on-year, establishing the scale benchmark MDP will compete against
MobiFone Digital Payment Joint Stock Company (MDP) officially launched on March 27, 2026, in Hanoi, in a ceremony attended by representatives of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Public Security, and domestic and international financial institutions. The company was formally licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam on November 27, 2025, to provide a full suite of intermediary payment services encompassing financial switching, electronic clearing, payment gateway services, and collection and disbursement support.
The company is a joint venture between three shareholders. MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation, a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Public Security, holds a 51% controlling stake. One Mount Group, a technology platform operator with links to Techcombank’s founding shareholder base, holds 38%. Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, known as Techcombank, holds the remaining 11%. Charter capital stands at VND 300 billion, equivalent to approximately USD 11.5 million. MDP is headquartered at C5 D’Capital Building in Hanoi’s Cau Giay district.
CEO Phan Thanh Son, who previously served as Deputy CEO and Chief Global Transaction Services Officer at Techcombank, leads the company. Board Chairman Lieutenant Colonel Bui Son Nam brings 28 years of experience at MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation, including more than a decade in senior commercial and digital finance roles.
Vietnam’s Second Payment Switching Operator
MDP’s licensing represents a structural shift in Vietnam’s payment infrastructure market. Since its establishment, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam, known as NAPAS, has operated as the sole entity licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam to provide financial switching and electronic clearing services. NAPAS processed 9.56 billion transactions in 2024, an increase of 30% by volume year-on-year, reflecting the scale of the infrastructure it controls. MDP’s entry introduces competitive licensing for the first time in this layer of Vietnam’s payments stack, in line with the policy direction set under Government Decree 52, which created a mechanism for licensing additional financial switching and clearing operators.
At its launch event, MDP described its strategic objective as building a “fourth-generation national payment infrastructure” for Vietnam, positioning itself as an open, interoperable platform connecting banks, financial institutions, merchants, and digital service operators through a shared network. The company’s ambition extends to cross-border payment connectivity with regional and global financial systems.
NAPAS And VNeID Partnerships Anchor Early Strategy
Prior to the official launch, MDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NAPAS on February 10, 2026. Under the agreement, the two companies committed to jointly researching and evaluating models for technical interconnection between their respective switching systems, with a focus on system architecture, business process alignment, risk management, and legal compliance. NAPAS General Director Nguyen Quang Minh described the signing as significant for leveraging the strengths of both organisations to deliver practical value to the market.
At the launch event itself, MDP signed a separate MoU with the Research and Application Center for Population Data and Citizen Identification, operating under the Ministry of Public Security’s C06 department. The agreement focuses on integrating MDP’s digital payment services into the national electronic identification application VNeID, enabling seamless cashless payments tied to biometric identity credentials, expanded digital services, and improved management of personal financial obligations within a secure environment.
MDP also announced at launch that it had signed a cooperation agreement with Visa, adding a global network partner to its institutional roster alongside 22 Vietnamese banks and financial institutions including Vietcombank, BIDV, Vietinbank, Agribank, and Techcombank.
Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Ngoc Canh, who attended the launch, stated that MDP’s emergence is expected to contribute to promoting digital transformation in the financial and banking sector and affirmed that the SBV expects MDP to function as a state-owned enterprise with strong and sustainable resource development and as a key link in the national payment ecosystem.